Large Liberty Mirror

Oil on panel. The painting echoes the composition of Titian's masterpiece (dated 1510, currently in the Louvre), but places it in a completely different landscape and develops it on the sides, with the introduction of a goat on the right and a faun playing a flute on the left. Furthermore, the four figures taken from Titian are developed inverted, probably because the artist of our painting was inspired by an engraving. The central scene shows two young men sitting on a meadow making music, flanked by a young woman with her back turned, while a second is drawing water from a marble basin. The two women are both naked, barely covered by slipping cloaks, while the two men, speaking to each other, are dressed in period costumes. The subject is intended to be an allegory of poetry and music, with the two women of ideal beauty, who are like two unreal apparitions generated by the imagination and inspiration of the two young men. The painting presented here shows traces of previous restorations. Currently, there are some paint losses and damage to the panel.

Oil on canvas. Bolognese school of the late 17th century. In the foreground, occupying the entire left part of the scene, lies the sleeping Baby Jesus, reclining backward in a pose of complete abandonment to sleep, a serene smile on his face; on the right side, diagonally delimited by the raised cloth, two figures, presumably two shepherds, gaze at the child with a gaze of deep and serious adoration and are making the gesture of covering him, a gesture that indicates tenderness but symbolically prefigures the sacrifice of Christ (the deposition of his body after the Crucifixion). The supine position of the Child, adored by Mary or by shepherds, was introduced by Guido Reni, who created several works with this subject, later widely taken up by his followers and by the 17th-century Bolognese school. As in Guido Reni's works, in this painting too, the light emanates directly from the Baby Jesus, illuminating the devout faces of those who adore him. Previously relined, the painting shows traces of extensive restoration. It is presented in a period frame.

Disciple of Pietro da Cortona

Oil on canvas. The work is based on the fresco created by Pietro da Cortona on a wall of the Sala della Stufa in Palazzo Pitti, part of the cycle of the Four Ages of Man, inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses. Scenes from the Bronze and Iron Ages contrast images of a civilized society with those of the violence perpetrated during wartime. As Ovid states, fraud and deception arose during the Iron Age, and men not only demanded that the earth bear fruit, but also dug into its depths. Thus iron and gold were discovered, and war began, bringing with it acts of pillage and violent plunder, even against the defenseless, such as the elderly, women, and children. This scene, also known as "Group of Soldiers Massacring Civilians" depicts dramatic scenes of violence and oppression, such as the soldier in the foreground about to kill the defenseless old man lying on the ground, or, on the right, the man cutting off a young mother's hair to take her ornaments, despite her pleas. The painting shows traces of previous minor restorations. It has a frame.

Period of Carlo Cignani

Oil on canvas. The painting closely replicates the one created by Carlo Cignani in 1702/1704, and is therefore the work of one of his students or at least from his workshop or circle. The scene depicts the infant Jupiter being suckled by the goat Amalthea, surrounded by nymphs and fauns intent on making music. According to myth, his mother Rhea, to save the child from his father Saturn, who devoured his children, hid him on the island of Crete, where he was raised by forest nymphs. The painting has undergone restoration and relining. It is presented in an antique gilded wooden frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school, 17th century. The large scene is animated by numerous intertwining figures: in the center, illuminated by the beam of light coming from above, Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms, watched over by St. Joseph on the right; on the left, the three wise men, bearing their gifts in rich caskets, and their entire entourage, along with the angels watching from above. A curious detail is the two little angels at the bottom, preparing the manger to welcome the baby Jesus. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. Frame in period style.

Oil on canvas. The scene depicts a plea for clemency from a king: a man begs the king to pardon the young man who is about to be beheaded by two servants; curiously, a crowned head lies at the king's feet. The scene takes place in a camp near a city, with several soldiers attending, while the two prisoners are in civilian clothes, as are the servants brandishing swords over the prisoner. The scene is not clearly linked to a specific biblical historical episode, but it certainly aims to convey the king's mercy, contrasted with severe justice. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. It is presented in an early 20th-century frame, regilded.

The Morning of the Roses

Oil on canvas. This is a copy, with minor variations, of the famous painting by Giovanni Giani, currently housed at the Quirinale Palace in Rome (purchased in 1906 by Queen Margherita). The work depicts a young woman in white in a moment of suspended expectation, sitting on a windowsill in the garden, surrounded by flowering rose bushes. The figure evokes a delicate and melancholic atmosphere, representing a symbol of expectation, purity, and youth. The work is an example of the Verist-Art Nouveau style of the Piedmontese artist Giani. Our large-scale painting recreates the strong decorative impact of the original. It is presented in an early 20th-century frame.

Oil on canvas. Central European School, mid-19th century. In the center of the scene, before a throne surmounted by a red velvet canopy and flanked by royal insignia, a king is settling a dispute between two groups of men, represented by several dignitaries in civilian clothes. Behind them, two different flags rise from the crowd; these are likely two political factions from the same city. The city's skyline in the background places the scene in a Central European context. The painting was applied in the early 20th century to plywood. It is presented in a regilded, late-19th-century frame.

Copy from Francesco Guardi

Oil on canvas. The original painting, created by Francesco Guardi in 1746 and donated to the Venice Civic Museums in 1830 from the collection of Abbot Teodoro Correr, has been on display at Ca' Rezzonico since 1936. The painting is an "interior view" in which the painter carefully and delicately depicts the visiting room of the monastery of San Zaccaria. The daughters of the most important Venetian families were nuns in the convent: in the parlor, relatives and friends could converse with the nuns, and puppet shows were also organized for the little ones during these gatherings, as seen on the right. Guardi's work is characterized by its portrayal of all the familiar elements of eighteenth-century Venice, with its gallant and worldly atmosphere that also permeated convents. The copy presented here is fairly faithful to the original, although it is missing a section on the right, behind the small theater. Having already undergone restoration and relining in the past, the painting currently requires cleaning. It is presented in a period frame.

Portrait of a Lady

Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. Celada loved to paint women, both in portraiture and in his figure studies, proposing a firm, classically feminine body, both in its form and in its references to the painting of the past. His painting, whatever the subject—still lifes, portraits, figures—capable of capturing reality in time and space, in a manner that appears detached, analytical, and scientifically precise (colors, reflections, transparencies), yet conveying—rather than total unreality—a great narrative pathos. The portrait of a woman presented here reveals Celada's ability to portray the subject with an almost photographic realism, yet surrounding her with an aura of surrealism, thanks to the monochromatic background devoid of any reference to the surrounding reality. The painting shows signs of previous restoration due to slight tears. Period frame.

Portrait of an Officer

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. Giuseppe Amisani established himself as a portraitist of famous and high-ranking figures. Considered late Impressionist, his painting was influenced by the Belle Époque, which led him to use vibrant colors and rapid brushstrokes, yet always with an eye for elegance. The sitter portrayed here is a high-ranking officer, seated, albeit with a very straight and military stance, in a luxuriously furnished living room. The work is framed in period style.

Oil on canvas. French school, mid-19th century. The scene, set at the entrance to the grounds of a villa during a romantic sunset, depicts the first meeting between a beautiful young woman, accompanied by her father, and a suitor, who is introduced by the black-clad figure in the center, the matchmaker. The painting is part of the 19th-century historical-literary pictorial movement, which depicted literary episodes in a romantic vein. The figures in this scene wear 16th-17th-century clothing and could be characters from a famous novel. For example, the old father's clothing recalls Pantalone, the Commedia dell'Arte character who tries to force his beautiful daughter Rosaura into a marriage of convenience, a theme widely used in literature. The painting has undergone minor restorations. It is presented in a period frame.